A Bite of Douluo Continent

At this moment, she had completely forgotten that she had gone to Mingke Street to prevent her third brother from finding her. All she could think about was that she had discovered such a delicious restaurant and she had to share it with her closest third brother.

I'm taking my third brother out for dinner tonight!

That shop is called Hanshi, right? I, Xu Yueyue, will remember it!

Hmm... I just don't know if Third Brother is busy tonight...

Never mind, it's my birthday today, so even if my third brother is busy, he has to have dinner with me!

With this in mind, Xu Yueyue's steps became even lighter.

Upon returning to the palace, she did not immediately go to the palace where the Third Prince resided, but instead went back to her own palace for a midday rest.

It's only just past lunchtime, dinner is still a long way off, no rush.

After a good night's sleep, Xu Yueyue strolled leisurely toward Deyang Palace, where the Third Prince lived.

As expected, the servants outside the door informed Xu Yueyue that His Highness the Third Prince was currently busy with official business.

"I understand. Third Brother didn't say I can't go in, right?" Xu Yueyue nodded and said.

"Of course not, please, Fifth Princess." Seeing that Xu Yueyue was determined to enter, the attendant naturally did not dare to stop her and hurriedly stepped aside to lead the way.

Upon entering the hall, Xu Yueyue quickly spotted the Third Prince, who was busily writing something at his desk. A hint of heartache flickered in her eyes, but she quickly broke into a bright smile, "Third Brother!"

Gu “Hmm?” Xu Jiyun paused slightly in his hand, looked up at the palace gate, and then stood up to greet him. “You little rascal, I was planning to have a simple lunch with you today, but I suddenly had some things to do. It’s your birthday today, and I, as your older brother, can’t be by your side. I didn’t expect you to come looking for me.”

As he spoke, Xu Jiyun's face showed a hint of helplessness. Xu Yueyue was his own sister, whom he naturally doted on. He had been hiding in Douluo Continent for several years and missed her terribly. However, his return to Sun and Moon with unparalleled achievements completely threatened the position of the eldest prince. Not long after his return, the struggle between the two sides had reached a fever pitch.

Although he had made tremendous contributions, the Crown Prince had been laying a deep and intricate web of schemes within the Sun Moon Empire over the past few years, making him extremely difficult to deal with. Now, he was constantly walking on thin ice and dared not slack off in the slightest.

"Brother, I know you've been working hard lately." Xu Yueyue gently held Xu Jiyun's hand. "But could you have dinner with me tonight?"

"Let's have a meal..." Xu Jiyun considered for a moment, and it seemed that he could still find time for a meal. He then nodded, "Okay, shall we eat in the palace?"

"No, no, no, I'll take you to eat outside the palace." With Xu Jiyun's consent, Xu Yueyue's face lit up with joy, and she smiled mysteriously.

Third Brother definitely hasn't been to that restaurant!

"Oh? Come to think of it, I haven't eaten outside the palace much since I came back. Shall we go to Mingtingque or Tianxingzhai?" Xu Jiyun asked with a light laugh.

The two restaurants he mentioned are the best on the Sun Moon Avenue, with the former even having royal backing.

"Neither," Xu Yueyue shook her head. "Third Brother, let me tell you, I snuck out of Mingke Street this afternoon and found an incredibly delicious restaurant..."

“Mingke Street?” Xu Jiyun frowned slightly.

He frowned not because the street was remote, but because it was quite far from the palace, and going back and forth would take even more time.

Why don't we persuade Yueyue to choose a restaurant that's closer to home?

Just as Xu Jiyun was about to speak, he heard Xu Yueyue continue talking.

"Yeah, if I hadn't gone, I wouldn't have known there was a restaurant called Hanshi there, where the food is much better than what the imperial chefs make..."

Xu Jiyun froze, swallowing the words of refusal he was about to utter.

Cold Food Festival... Why does this name sound so familiar?

Wait… Cold Food Festival?!

Xu Jiyun suddenly looked up at Xu Yueyue, "Is it the 'han' of coldness and the 'shi' of food?"

“Yes,” Xu Yueyue nodded. “Third Brother, let me tell you…”

"Wait!" Xu Jiyun interrupted his sister, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "Yueyue, you go back first. I have some important things to take care of right now."

Seeing the dissatisfaction on Xu Yueyue's face, Xu Jiyun forced a smile, "I'll go to Hanshi with you for dinner in half an hour."

"Yay!" Xu Yueyue hadn't noticed anything amiss, assuming her third brother had other things to attend to, and nodded immediately. "Then I'll go back and wait for you!"

"Alright." Smiling as he watched his younger sister skip away joyfully, Xu Jiyun's expression quickly turned serious. "Someone come here!"

"Here!" Three figures appeared behind Xu Jiyun without him noticing.

"I'm giving you only half an hour to find out everything about that cold food stall on Mingke Street!"

"Yes!"

His figure vanished instantly, and Xu Jiyun strode towards the table, quickly finding a stack of papers. He then picked out two of them and began to examine them carefully, word by word.

A restaurant that exists in the Douluo Continent has mysteriously appeared in the Sun and Moon Continent.

Understanding everything behind this is more important than anything else!

Chapter 474 The Horrifying Truth (Bonus chapter on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, please vote!)

"There is a restaurant called Hanshi in Shrek City. It looks ordinary, but it is located between Tang Sect, Shrek City Great Soul Arena, Shrek Academy, and Shrek City Great Auction House. It is said that several branch leaders of Tang Sect Shrek City and some elders of Sea God Pavilion are regular customers of this restaurant. All of these people are Title Douluo level experts, with strength equivalent to a level nine Soul Master. Therefore, I dare not go there to investigate. However, the fact that this restaurant can entertain such powerful people suggests that it has an extremely powerful background. We need to be wary."

"During the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament held in Star Luo City, a restaurant called Hanshi appeared in Star Luo City. This restaurant looks ordinary, but the number of customers queuing up every day is in the thousands. The former eldest prince of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Tonghua, the new emperor of the Star Luo Empire, Xu Changling, the sect leader of the Tang Sect, Tang Qianqiu, and other Star Luo celebrities have visited this restaurant many times, which seems to be related to their exchanges. This restaurant is very likely to be closely related to the coup in the Star Luo Empire royal family and needs to be guarded against."

After repeatedly reading through all the records about the Cold Food Festival written by his two deceased subordinates, Xu Jiyun pressed his temples, trying to calm himself down as quickly as possible.

It's unimaginable that a restaurant would occupy hundreds of words on a piece of paper recording information about the entire Douluo Continent, but at this moment, Xu Jiyun only regretted that his two subordinates hadn't written a few thousand more words, preferably including a table and a chair from the Cold Food Festival.

Before today, Xu Jiyun had never paid any attention to this obscure restaurant. He only remembered it slightly because of a record of the restaurant that led him to face an attack from the Second Prince.

He never believed that the restaurant mentioned in the intelligence report truly had the mysterious and powerful background described in the intelligence records. Instead, he always thought that it was just a few suspicious details that his two subordinates had carefully recorded out of caution.

But at this moment, no evidence is needed anymore. Once it is confirmed that the cold food restaurant that appeared on Mingke Street is the same one mentioned in the intelligence, then all the speculations in the intelligence must be true!

The truth is even more terrifying than they speculated!

The Sun Moon Empire has already imposed martial law on all coastlines. This is an indiscriminate and comprehensive scan targeting any living being or fluctuation of soul power. No one can land on the Sun Moon Continent without being detected; it is absolutely impossible.

Under such circumstances, how did a restaurant that should have been in Douluo Continent end up in Sun Moon Continent?

Could it have been before the Sun Moon Empire imposed martial law on the coastline?

No… Xu Jiyun would rather the other party had recently broken in than have this guess come true.

The Sun Moon Empire swiftly imposed martial law after discovering the Douluo Continent three years prior. However, it's possible that forces from the Douluo Continent had already infiltrated the Sun Moon Empire before martial law was declared on the coastline…

That means that the Douluo Continent discovered each other's existence earlier than this side!

If that's the case, then is the thick stack of intelligence he has in his hand the truth he's uncovered, or is it false intelligence that Douluo Continent deliberately let them find out?

Thinking of this, Xu Jiyun suddenly shivered.

No way! Impossible! How could the Sun and Moon Continent be discovered if the Douluo Continent didn't have the Heaven and Earth-Shattering Path?

Xu Jiyun, calm down!

He forced himself to suppress the turmoil in his heart and slowly calmed down, but his expression remained extremely solemn.

"Your Highness, we've found out." A figure in black robes suddenly appeared in the palace, handing Xu Jiyun the intelligence he had just gathered. However, Xu Jiyun showed no joy on his face.

How could it be so fast?

It's only been less than five minutes!

How could you find out detailed information about a restaurant with such a terrifying background in just five minutes?

Are you kidding me?!

Even so, Xu Jiyun snatched the intelligence report and began to examine it carefully.

Gradually, his expression became somewhat strange. "It just opened yesterday?"

The information clearly stated the time of sale of the store and the real estate agency involved. All the procedures and records were complete. All the information indicated that the restaurant had just acquired the store yesterday and opened today.

Could it be... that the restaurant's name is just a coincidence?

The intelligence report does state that the shop owner's name is Qi Han, but the intelligence report for Douluo Continent does not mention the owner of Hanshi Restaurant, so it seems that nothing can be confirmed based on this alone.

"Have you found out anything about this Cold Food Shop owner named Qi Han?" Xu Jiyun stared intently at Qi Han's name on the intelligence report and asked in a deep voice, "Why is there no mention of him in this intelligence report?"

"Your Highness, I have returned after finding out all the information related to the shop. The information about the owner of Hanshi Restaurant is still under investigation..." The voice was about to continue speaking when it suddenly stopped, and another figure appeared beside him.

“Your Highness, according to the investigation by the Household Registration Department, this person is not a local of Mingdu. According to the investigation by the City Defense Department, this person arrived in Mingdu yesterday and is a Level 5 Soul Master with a Soul Power Level of 53.” The newcomer quickly spoke up and then handed over a piece of information. “As for the information before he came to Mingdu, it requires gathering manpower from various places, and it is really impossible to obtain it in half an hour. Your Highness, please forgive me.”

After receiving the intelligence and glancing at it, Xu Jiyun's face showed a mixture of emotions.

"A level 5 Soul Master?" He sneered. "A level 5 Soul Master opening a restaurant and willingly becoming a chef? I think he should be a level 53 Soul King."

The initial suspicions, which had lessened due to the timing of the Hanshi Restaurant's opening, were amplified to the extreme by the City Defense Division's soul power detection intelligence. What would a level 5 soul master do with such a low-key restaurant?

and many more…

He quickly shifted his gaze back to the statements from the agency, and gradually, his eyes settled on one particular sentence.

"Deliberately choosing the most remote shop?"

Why would a normal restaurant deliberately choose the most remote location?

So... running a restaurant is just a front, right?

The reason for choosing such a remote shop was simply to cover up the truth and create a blind spot for everyone on the Sun and Moon Continent.

What is the real purpose of the Cold Food Festival being held here?

Is it to gather intelligence on the Sun Moon Empire, just like I once gathered intelligence on the Douluo Continent?

Or perhaps... he's looking for an opportunity to learn how to make soul tools?

After all, the method of making soul tools has been completely extinct in the Douluo Continent. These things, which are commonplace in the Sun Moon Continent, are priceless in the Douluo Continent!

Or perhaps... both?

Neither of these situations is acceptable to the current Sun Moon Empire!

Taking a deep breath, Xu Jiyun was 99% certain that this restaurant must be the Hanshi Restaurant located in Douluo Continent, as mentioned in the intelligence!

If that's the case... then was it a coincidence that it was discovered by its silly, naive younger sister on its first day of business today, or was it some kind of deliberate manipulation?

The intelligence in his hand slowly clenched into a ball, finally turning into dust. A strange light flashed in Xu Jiyun's eyes. "I'll give you three days to find out all the traces of Qi Han!"

"Yes!" The subordinate disappeared again, and Xu Jiyun turned and walked towards the palace.

Change your clothes and go eat at Hanshi Festival.

Whatever your schemes are in appearing here, I will simply face them!